Brent Benson scored a game-high 25 points and Emmanuel Bidias Aâ€™ Moute came off the bench to add 18 points and six rebounds as they led Texas State to a 76-66 victory over Cal State Fullerton in the opening round of the Verizon Wireless Tip-Off Classic in Honolulu, Hawaii.

The Bobcats jumped out to an early 8-1 lead in the first 4:12 of the game as Benson hit a jumper off a steal by John Rybak for the first points of the game. Rybak added a pair of free throws before he and Ty Gough added a pair of lay-ups.

Playing in his first game for the Bobcats after transferring from Kilgore College, Bidias Aâ€™ Moute scored his first two points in the game on a jump shot with 12:55 left to play. He added a lay-up and another jump shot after Ryan White made two free throws to extend Texas Stateâ€™s lead to 18-9.

The Bobcats never looked back as they opened up a 17-point lead in the final minute of the first half after Benson made a pair of free throws to give Texas State a 40-23 lead at halftime.

In the second half, Texas State extended its lead to 47-27 after Corey Jefferson made a jump shot in the lane and Benson scored five more points on a lay-up and three-point field goal with 17:59 left to play.

However, Cal State Fullerton didnâ€™t go away quietly as the Titans used a 19-4 run to pull to within 49-44 with 12:47 left to play. Gerard Anderson scored 16 points and Josh Akognon added three to lead the Titans. Texas Stateâ€™s only points during that five-minute stretch was a lay-up by Benson and a pair of free throws by Jefferson.

The Titans couldnâ€™t get any closer as White hit Roshun Jackson made a jumper in the lane and Benson added a lay-up before White nailed a three-point shot to give Texas State a 56-47 lead with 11:27 left to play in the game.

The Bobcats used a 13-8 run to extended their lead to 69-55 with five minutes left to play. They never looked back and went on to win their third straight season-opening game under head coach Doug Davalos.

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